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Installation
This article will guide you through installing Final Fantasy XI (FFXI), patching it to play on Era without issues, and configuring the launchers Ashita and Windower. Installing FFXI * Download the retail installer here. It got a massive update in 2019 and is much faster than in previous years. * Run retail installer, install all options * Open the folder Playonline/SquareEnix/FinalFantasyXI/ROM/0/ and delete 0.dat . You do this to help force an update * Launch PlayOnline, update as normal * Relaunch PlayOnline and select Check Files. Select Final Fantasy XI from the drop down menu in the middle and begin the process of updating the client to current retail version. This is currently necessary. If for any reason you can't select Final Fantasy XI from the dropdown, you need to launch the actual game once. If you don't have a regular retail account that's active, you could sign up for a trial account and use it to update the game client. * Your client is now currently up to date and you can use XiLoader to launch the game to play on private servers if you are okay with encountering some issues. Patching for Era While you can currently login and play on Era with any recent client version, you may run into issues involving cutscenes, merit categories, NPCs not having the correct names, and more. If you are wanting to play seriously on Era, it is recommended to patch your installation to avoid such issues and improve the quality of your experience. This current patch was made by comparing a retail install as of 12/29/2019 and an older backup made available by a player. This patch has been tested somewhat and no new issues have been reported beyond WHM group 2 merits not being available. If you encounter an issue, please submit a ticket so that the Era GMs can isolate what might be causing it. * Download the current patch either via Google Drive here (compressed ZIP archive 158mbs) or the torrent file here (uncompressed folder 645mbs) * Overwrite the contents of the archive into your FinalFantasyXI folder Installing XiLoader XiLoader is a 3rd party, open source utility that allows FFXI to be loaded without interacting with the PlayOnline software. It's essential for connecting to private servers. * Download the latest XiLoader.exe version here. * Put the XiLoader.exe program in your Playonline/SquareEnix/PlayOnlineViewer/ folder. * That's it! Configuring Ashita Ashita is a 3rd party launcher that allows the game to be windower and loaded with addons and plugins. You will most likely want to use either Ashita or Windower to play FFXI. * Download the Ashita installer here. * Run the installer according to the installation instructions here on the Ashita site. * Open Ashita and Click the big +''' button to create a new profile. * Click the '''... button next to the File box and point it at your XiLoader.exe file * In the Command box, enter the following text --server ffera.com * Click the icon at the bottom of the Ashita window to save your profile. You can customize it further after you Create an Account and make sure you can play the game first. * Once you create your account and confirm you can login, you can save time by editing the Command box to: --server ffera.com --username yourlogin --password yourpassword Configuring Windower Windower is another 3rd party launcher with the (largely) the same features. * Download the Windower installer here * Run the installer * Navigate to the Windower folder and right click the "setings" file and open it with a text editor like Notepad, Notepad ++, etc. * Change/add the text of the file to the following. If you had Windower installed already to play on Retail, just copy the section. The location is the location of your XiLoader.exe file you copied earlier. US Grave Window 1 1.2 true false false --server ffera.com --username C:\Program Files (x86)\PlayOnline\SquareEnix\PlayOnlineViewer\xiloader.exe * Save the settings file and exit out of the text editor. * Launch Windower and choose your Era profile in the list. Create an Account and login to play! * To autologin once your account has been created, change the line in your settings file to the following: --server ffera.com --username yourlogin --password yourpassword If you have issues with the Windower client, check the official FAQ here or ask for help in the FFXI Era Discord server. Using 3rd Party Installer It is currently possible to login to Era with any version of the game that runs. You may experience issues with cutscenes, merit categories being incorrect, etc. Sometimes these are simple options to just get on and play the game. Eden installer - Issues with mission/quest cutscenes, WotG jobs DNC and SCH removed from equipment, other custom modifications. Has correct Era merit categories for jobs that were adjusted later in retail, though. A painless installer that gives access to spending WHM, BLM, NIN, etc. merits correctly. You just have to edit your Ashita/Windower settings and point them to Era to play on the correct server.